ISO 9001:2015 has arrived

ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System and its guidance companion, ISO 9000, were published on 23 September 2015. Alongside the publication and now available is the online comparison guide BSI Essentials: 9001.

This is the first substantial revision the standard has undergone since 2000.

Changes include:

Context of the organization: Also referred to as the 'environment', this is not a new concept and was raised as part of ISO 9004:2009. It is designed to help businesses get the maximum benefit from their quality management system.

Risk: The ISO 9001 standard discusses risks connected to a company's environment, in particular objectives, products, processes, structure and size. With an additional focus on taking preventative measures to avoid and mitigate risk, it is clear that these are ideas very much in line with the priorities of ISO 9001:2015.

Ongoing vigilance: The final change covers the requirement of a business to constantly monitor, revise and take action on objectives. This idea of responsibility is something that all businesses should have in place to ensure that objectives are met and do not become simply formalities that meet the requirements of ISO 9001.

For organziations already certified to ISO 9001, the existing standard will eventually be withdrawn and a transition will need to be made to the new standard by 2018.

The standard is available to buy from BSI Shop and is accessible on BSOL for existing customers.